Haiti

Man, these people have never been able to catch a break from the word 'go.'

On 1 January 1804, Dessalines, the new leader under the dictatorial 1801 constitution, declared Haiti a free republic. Haiti was the first independent nation in Latin America, the first post-colonial independent black-led nation in the world, and the only nation whose independence was gained as part of a successful slave rebellion. The country was crippled by years of war, its agriculture devastated, its formal commerce nonexistent.

Haiti was forced to make reparations to French slaveholders in 1825 in the amount of 150 million francs, reduced in 1838 to 60 million francs, in exchange for French recognition of its independence and to achieve freedom from French aggression. This indemnity bankrupted the Haitian treasury. It mortgaged Haiti's future to the French banks that provided the funds for the large first installment, permanently affecting Haiti's ability to be prosperous.

And now, after years of enforced poverty and ignorance, they're pummeled by a major earthquake...and a cholera epidemic on top of that.

It's one thing to let people suffer the consequences of their own stupidity.  It's another to ignore those who are in dire straits through no fault of their own.  VidSweet reminds us, below, of our duty as human beings to help the innocent.



Let's all do what we can.